More Miles of Canals than Venice……….

For many years I’ve had a fascination with the Brum canal system, actually doing a black & white photo module on them for my City & Guilds ………….. perhaps one day I’ll get them scanned into my computer 💡 and do a post with them….anyway less of the sidetracking ……….

With my new found freedom from work, January 10th found us trundling on the train to Birmingham, 10 stops and 35 minutes later we arrived, not might I add to look round the shops of this cosmopolitan city, but something far more interesting to me ……………yes, the canals 🙂

Parts of the canal network have been restored, very tastefully I might add, but to me it has lost something. How many people and horses have walked these old cobbles in the foreground compared to the restored section further along. Standing there you can actually feel an erie presence of the hardworking boaters of yesteryear and imagine the clatter of hooves on the cobbles.

Lock winding gear

It is a very sensory feeling to run your fingers through the deep grooves, hewed into the brickwork by the ropes attached to the horse pulled narrow boats. Shame about the new brick towpath.

Watching the world go by, with my mega calorie dutch chocolate at a canal-side cafe ……….. hmmm retirement’s good 🙂

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3 thoughts on “More Miles of Canals than Venice……….”

Didn’t have time to comment yesterday am. Took me a while to get into industrial archaeology/history/heritage/architecture, coming from an ancient and medieval background, but I really love the 18th 19th century stuff now.

Those are lovely pics, V. But yes, restoration is lovely, use is better. Amazed about the football (rugby presumably) score though.